Chapter 1: Welcome to the Sea Survival Game

When Lily Rhodes opened her eyes, she was greeted by an azure sky. The air she breathed tasted of salty brine, and the sound of crashing waves echoed in her ears. Even the texture of the bed beneath her had changed completely.

She blinked, her gaze filled with a calm bewilderment.

"An illusion. I must be dreaming," she muttered.

With that thought, she slowly closed her eyes, hoping to quickly end this absurd dream.

A minute later, when she opened her eyes again, the azure sky remained unchanged. The air still carried the scent of the sea, and the sound of the crashing waves seemed to grow even more urgent. Only then did she realize she wasn’t dreaming.

She sat up abruptly. She was stranded on a smooth, slightly curved little island. It wasn’t large—just big enough for her to lie down.

Suddenly, a wave crashed over her. The freezing seawater slapped her face and instantly soaked her to the bone. Her groggy mind snapped completely awake.

"What the..."

Lily couldn’t help but curse. Just then, she felt the tiny island beneath her move. She instinctively crouched down, gripping the edges tightly, and held her breath in sheer panic. In an instant, countless grim scenarios flashed through her mind. This island was her only refuge; if it sank, then she...

Lily stared at the boundless ocean, a wave of despair washing over her. She couldn’t swim. And even if she could, how long could anyone survive in this endless expanse of water? She pressed her body flat against the island, her hands clutching the edges. Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited for fate’s judgment.

Although the island was just large enough for her to lie on, there was barely any room to spare. With her sprawled across it, the remaining space was virtually nonexistent.

Every second of waiting dragged on like an eternity. After what felt like ages, Lily slowly opened her eyes. To her astonishment, her little island hadn’t sunk; it was simply moving forward at a steady pace. Once she confirmed she was safe for the moment, she finally took a good look at her surroundings.

She was stranded in the middle of a vast ocean. And it wasn’t a dream.

Lily glanced at her arm, which she had pinched red to check if she was awake, then shifted her gaze back to her current foothold—a self-moving island. Only then did she realize that the surface beneath her wasn’t soil at all. It was smooth and patterned.

"Wait a minute. Is this a turtle shell?"

Summoning her courage, Lily stood up and shuffled to the edge. Peering through the water, she could faintly make out slowly paddling limbs and a massive head beneath the surface. It was her first time seeing a turtle of such colossal proportions, and it gave her a genuine fright.

The good news: she wasn’t stranded on an island.

The bad news: she was trapped on the back of a giant turtle. If this creature decided to dive into the ocean, she would...

Lily shivered, not daring to imagine her fate if it submerged.

Right at that moment, a translucent blue panel materialized out of thin air in front of her.

[Marine Survival System activated.]

[Current Player Count: 7,856,156,423]

[System Advice: All Azureans between the ages of eighteen and fifty have been transported to The Survival World. All players must familiarize themselves with their surroundings and upgrade their vehicles as soon as possible to face the upcoming challenges.]

[Warning: Death in this world is true death. Do not harbor any illusions of a second chance.]

[Your vehicle is your most important asset in this endless sea. The higher the Level of your vehicle, the greater your chances of survival.]

[Novice Protection Period: 7 days remaining. During these seven days, all players will experience a safe development phase. After seven days, pregnant women, individuals under eighteen, and those over fifty will be transported to their families.]

[The System wishes you a pleasant survival experience!]

Lily stared at the panel in front of her for several minutes. At this moment, only one thought remained in her mind.

Had she transmigrated? And a global transmigration at that! What had happened to Azurea? Had the planet finally gotten sick of its rowdy pets and decided to abandon them?

After a brief moment of wild imagination, Lily quickly accepted reality. The most crucial thing right now was to upgrade her vehicle and survive. After all, the System had just stated that they only had a seven-day novice period.

She patted the smooth shell beneath her. "Looks like you’re my vehicle."

Weren’t vehicles in novels usually boats or wooden rafts? Why did hers have to be a giant turtle?

However, Lily didn’t dwell on this for too long. Novels were novels, and reality was reality. Staying alive was her top priority. But how was she supposed to upgrade this vehicle? She looked at the translucent blue panel. The clues for upgrading were most likely hidden within it.

The panel was divided into two main sections: Chat and Trade. The Trade section was completely empty, while the Chat section was further divided into World Channel, Regional Channel, and Proximity Channel.

Messages in the World and Regional channels were refreshing at a blistering pace. In contrast, the Proximity Channel remained completely dead, indicating that there was likely no one nearby. This was good news for Lily. In a completely unfamiliar environment, running into other people wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

She didn’t bother checking the World Channel; the messages scrolled by too fast to read, and each person was limited to speaking there only once a day. As for the Regional Channel, the text speed was slightly more manageable, and there was no limit on how many messages a person could send.

[Am I crazy, or is the world crazy? I can’t believe survival games are actually real.]

[Does anyone get how messed up this is? I was sleeping at home, and the next thing I know, I’m floating in the middle of the sea. I sleep naked!]

Seeing this, Lily glanced down at her clothes. Though she was soaked through, she felt an inexplicable sense of security. Thank goodness she didn’t have a habit of sleeping naked.

[Dammit! I just got married and was about to consummate it! Wifey, are you here?!]

[Who am I? Where am I? What is this place?]

Watching these people transition from frantic disbelief to regaining their senses and accepting reality didn’t take long at all. It seemed modern people had quite a strong capacity for acceptance.

[Everyone, listen to me. Since we’re stuck here, figuring out how to survive is the most important thing. Don’t forget we have families waiting for us. We only have a seven-day safe period. I suggest we all help each other out; that’s the only way to increase our survival rate.]

As soon as this message went out, a flurry of agreements quickly followed below it. Seeing this, Lily didn’t chime in. She simply lurked in silence, having no intention of joining the fray.